Abner (1867-1953) is our great grandfather; Hill Farmstead Brewery rests upon the land that was once home to him and his fourteen children. In his honor, this Double IPA is dutifully crafted from American malted barley, a plethora of American hops, our ale yeast and water from Abner’s well. It is unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and double dry hopped. Aromatic and flowery, bursting with notes of citrus and pine, this is the ale that I dream to have shared with Abner.

Amazing. This beer is in my top 5 IPAs and will most certainly hold on as it was delicious. I can't wait to go to Hill next year. I hope to meet as many deceased family members reincarnated into mouth candy as possible. Keep up the awesome work Shaun!!

Presently, I live about 80 miles away from Hill Farmstead. After now having reviewed a handful of their beers, I realize that I would drive 180 miles each way. Maybe 280. And I'm not entirely happy about this. Abner is among the best I've had from Hill Farmstead. The hop profile is excellent, and it's so clean that I just want to drink more. The fact that this is 8.2% ABV is actually dangerous.

Alright, so this beer pours a clear copper body. Perhaps straw-orange. With that trademark Hill Farmstead 2cm white head that has awesome retention. Not a whole lot of lacing on this actually, but who cares?

Nose is not as pungent as Susan which we drank earlier today, but it just smells better.. its got that orange zest combined with citrus and tropical fruit.. but the biggest contribution is that floral scent. Deliciously floral. Great nose still, but Susan and Ephraim has it beat.

But you know what, that flavour profile is so incredible. So complex with tons of citrus and tropical fruit. It has that great malty backbone that isn't too strong but just balances out all the hoppiness in this beer. Its such a perfect balance for a DIPA.

Mouthfeel, again is that incredible creamy Hill Farmstead full body. I have never had such a full bodied double IPA. Again there is just something in that damn well water, I want to go visit Hill Farmstead, use the bathroom and fill up a water bottle and send it into a lab for analysis so I can treat my homebrew like so. Aftertaste is that bitter citrus flavour, but not so strong. It is so incredibly drinkable, even more so than Susan was. Can't tell that this beer is 8.2%, not at all. It drinks like a session beer.

Overall this beer is one of the best double IPAs I've ever had. It beats out Pliny and Heady, but its kind of unfair since this is Hill Farmstead we're talking about. It's up there with Double Sunshine as one of the best to come out of Vermont.

From Hill Farmstead's website: "Abner (1867-1953) is our great grandfather; Hill Farmstead Brewery rests upon the land that was once home to him and his fourteen children. In his honor, this double pale ale is dutifully crafted from American malted barley, a plethora of American hops, our ale yeast and water from Abner’s well. It is unfiltered and double dry hopped. Aromatic and flowery, bursting with notes of citrus and pine, this is the ale that I dream to have shared with Abner. 8%, 18.5º P, 170 Theoretical ibus. Ingredients: Pale and Caramel Malt; Dextrose; Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Simcoe, and Warrior hops; Ale Yeast, and our Well Water."

Received this growler in a trade, and the tag says "Best Consumed by April 3, 2014".

Served in a Hill Farmstead stemmed balloon glass.

In the glass, Abner is a rustic but beautiful looking IPA. The body glows with a bright orange haze and the puffy, marshmallow head develops slowly and compacts easily, giving it the ability to pop out over the rim of the glass. It has a smooth, creamy texture, and leaves impenetrable rings of lacing on the side of the glass. After some time, the head withers down to leave just a floating island of white bubbles in the middle of the glass.

Inhaling Abner's scent is not something you would soon forget. It is not delicate, but it is certainly not bold. The aroma carries hints of sweetness and bitterness, oozing with notes of pine sap, honeysuckle, kiwi, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and citrus zest. It's a feast for the olfactory glands. This tropical aroma, bright and citrusy, is very popular with craft drinkers right now, and while I am not opposed to any other types of profiles out there, I find this particular "style" of hop aroma to be so appetizing, refreshing, and interesting all at once.

The head acts like the cream on top of the milk.It is soft and buttery on the lips. The texture of the beer is also very soft, and approaching creamy. Smooth carbonation, and plenty of it. Up front is a bright fruitiness, with hints of peach tarts and grapefruit. Immediately following that, across the palate is a flash of bitter citrus fruit, and then some serious pine flavors mixed with the lingering bitterness and astringency of citrus rind. The aftertaste carries notes of tropical fruits, and a light berry flavor.

There is no doubt that this is a world-class IPA. What Shaun has done with this beer is create something that is classic, rustic, and sharp all at once. It's highly drinkable...in fact, it is crushable (though it may end up crushing you). I finished off the 750ml growler by myself. I am feeling the effects: lulling me to sleep, spreading a smile across my face. I am so glad that I got to try this beer. This is something that the Beer Hunter would have been excited to try.

Poured from growler into a hill farmstead tulip. A couldy yellow colour with a really nice head retention and lacing, silky white head.

Aroma is full of citrus floral notes, lemony and some light piny notes, robust florals, peppermint, grapefruit, wildflower honey. So complex and inticing.

Taste is full with balanced hop character, creamy grapefruit, resiny wildflower notes, a touch of floraly lemon sweetness then a growing gradual resiny bitterness. Tons of rich orange citrus. Fantastic balance. Drinkability is crazy with so much depth and balance.

Mouthfeel is really full, gentle carbonation with a full bodied malt creaminess, maintains enough of a full dextrin complexity to balance the hop bitterness impecably. Alcohol is well hidden and such a fruity and hoppy body with a creamy upfront malt.

Lives up the hype as an impecable ipa. It balances itself so well between the strong citrus and floral hop character and a creamy malty body. It's is delicious and complex, fantastic. Certainly an impecable beer with a great complexity and warming beer, impressed by the great balance here and the ridculous quality from start to finish.

A - Abner pours a bright peach-orange hue with a one finger head of white foam that quickly dissipates. Lacing abounds. Like all of Hill Farmstead's beers, this one is unfiltered and opaque.

S - A very nice, tropical, citrus nose, with some papaya, pineapple, and a little bit of peach, nectarine aroma. Very floral.

T - Hop bitterness, Citrus fruits and floral all in perfect balance. Pick up the tropical fruits as well.

M - Maybe the best mouthfeel out of all the great DIPA's I've ever had. Smooth, creamy, balanced. Leaves your mouth watering which most powerful DIPA's don't. You're usually left with a puckering and dry palate but not here.

O - Heady Topper to me is the greatest IPA of all-time, but this one is right behind and it and in the same ballpark. The hop character even reminds me of Heady. I don't know how Shaun keeps pumping out world class IPA's but he does. If your a fan of IPA's this is a must try. Craftsmanship at it's best.